Project Tempest
by Rath's Rants
Summary: Falling to pieces under unfavorable circumstances is easy. Kudo Shinichi doesn't believe in taking the easy way out. /WARNING: eventual character death/
1. The Coming Storm (or A Witch's Kindness)

**Pairings**: Okay, so personally, I don't think this even really has a bearing on the story. I'd honestly rather it, if people didn't bother reading this story because it contains a certain pairing because pairings will not have a huge influence on the overall plot. There will be some romantic elements, but they don't really matter in the scheme of things. As such, I am going to be leaving you in the dark about it. However, if it really bothers you that much, or if you absolutely cannot wait until I'm writing the relevant chapter, send me a PM, and I'll tell you. (I'd like to do it this way, so it doesn't ruin it for the rest of ya.)

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**Currently**: 00. The Coming Storm (or A Witch's Kindness)

* * *

The world outside was quiet, as most of it was completely unaware of what was about to happen to it. All, except for three people, soon to be made four. The world slept on.

* * *

"Project Tempest," she gestured to the five watches, nestled in their box made of dark wood. The beginning of a smile curled her lip, but soon faded. Ai was proud of Tempest, but to have it be used for such a reason... "The design is calculated to attract the least amount of attention, and since you wear your dart watch anyways, I doubt anyone will notice the difference."

"And you're sure this will work?" Shinichi asked, reaching for the leftmost watch. She scowled, but nodded. "Sorry for the doubt," he said apologetically, "but it looks so ordinary."

"That's the point, Shinichi-kun," Ai noted dryly. "It's not supposed to look formidable. It's supposed to look like a watch."

He fiddled with the watch, careful not to push any buttons. Abruptly, he said, "I'm going to miss you, you know, Ai. Part of me always blamed you, for my... my situation, but it's different now."

"Shut up," she muttered, as a dusting of red appeared on her cheeks, "you're making this harder than it needs to be." Then, very softly, she added, "Even so, I'm going to miss you too, Shinichi-kun."

Ai reached over and took the watch from his hands, strapping it onto his wrist with care that probably wasn't exaggerated. "I've got one last question." He looked up to the witch standing in the doorway. "Your end will hold up, won't it..?"

"I've already received payment Kudo-kun, you really have nothing to worry about. I wouldn't hand out a faulty product." Akako had tested it herself, numerous times. But he didn't need to know just how much care she had put into the process, nor would he learn of her reasons for it.

"Thank you, Akako-san," and he sighed, his relief eminent. "That's really, really good to hear." A smile cracked his lips. "I suppose I better get going."

"Not just yet," Akako stepped forward, and touched a finger to Shinichi's forehead. He felt a tingling coolness wash over him, head to foot. "Something for luck." She smiled, "Free of charge this time. It's just a small charm after all." She counted its other use as payment; but he didn't need to know that either.

"Thank you," he said slowly. Shinichi was used to being able to read people, but Koizumi Akako was the one person he couldn't, and words weren't something he trusted from her.

"Tch, it's not kindness," she said, as if reading his thoughts. _It's not like you'd have a chance to repay it, anyways_, she thought, then added, "You know he would do something unpleasant to me if he found out I hadn't at least given you this much." Akako grimaced at the thought of what he might do, and turned back to the door. "My job is done, I'll be on my way."

"Goodbye, Akako-san." Shinichi took one last look at the room around him, grabbed his shoulder bag, and glanced at Ai. Finally, he smiled. "Goodbye, Ai. Tell him not to worry. After all, this never happened." He hit the button.

* * *

Two weeks later, Ai stared at the spot where they had disappeared. "'The price to be paid, for what was done, and for what has to be done.'" She whispered the witch's words, and a quiet settled over the room as Ai walked out of it for the last time.

* * *

**AN**: This was really meant to be more of a prologue... The next chapter should be longer, but nothing is certain in this world so I can't promise anything. Hope you enjoyed it.

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**Next**: 01. The Imposter (or A Cure for Boredom)


	2. The Impostor (or A Cure for Boredom)

**Currently**: 01. The Imposter (or A Cure for Boredom)

* * *

"I've got something to do today, so I'll be going on ahead!" He called the words over his shoulder as he ran out of the classroom, ignoring his friends' words of protest. He would've apologized, but frankly, he didn't feel even slightly apologetic.

Conan needed a break. Life as a first grade student wasn't getting any better. There hadn't been any new leads in weeks. Cases had been scarce (he supposed that, that was a good thing.) He couldn't even read a book with Ran-'neechan' scolding him for 'reading things that young children shouldn't be reading'.

So is it any surprise that, when he spotted a familiar figure crouched near the front entrance of Teitan Elementary school, that he damn near _sprinted_ for it?

* * *

"Yo," the teenage impostor grinned and stood up, "have you got some time to spare? I've got something I'd like you to help me with."

He dropped effortlessly into the 'little kid routine' and smiled wide. "I can't imagine what you'd want my help for, but I'll take a look if you want me to, Shinichi-niichan." Conan reached up slightly and grabbed the impostor's hand, even as the aforementioned shuddered.

"...was right. That is creepy." 'Shinichi-niichan' continued to mutter throughout the entire trip to Kudo Manor, and Conan only caught snippets ("...what does _he_ know anyways...") of what was being said. Conan wasn't worried; he had other things to think about.

Like, Kid was getting really sloppy with his disguises. Usually, 'Shinichi-niichan' looked almost identical to his older self (other than the over dramatic hand gestures and faulty detective skills). Today though, there was none of that, but the appearance was slightly off.

The hair was a shade or two darker than normal, and it was more flat. The ducktail in the back didn't stand out as much as normal. His hands, too, felt vaguely wrong, in a way he couldn't quite pinpoint. Most importantly, he was taller by a few centimeters. Other people might be fooled, but Conan's eyes missed very little. He wondered at it as they stepped inside the gates of Kudo Manor.

* * *

_It's funny_, Conan thought, glancing around the living room,_ this house hasn't changed all that much_. The only real difference was the dust, and even that had mostly been kept at bay, due to Ran coming in to clean every other month. Really, it seemed as if he, Shinichi that is, could walk right through the door and take up the daily routines of almost a year ago.

Even so, seeing Kid sitting there calmly drinking coffee was... disconcerting, to say the least.

"So, what's the trouble Kid?" Conan asked, dropping the 'little kid act' and sounding almost cheerful. A case, any case, would be welcome right now, but Kid's were some of his favorites, much as he disliked admitting it. The thief had a knack for riddles, and a definite flair for the theatrical. Even better, nobody _ever_ got hurt at a Kid heist.

Kid shook his head. "I'm not Kaitou Kid. Even I would have trouble being that much of an annoyance." The moment the words were out of his mouth, Conan was on his feet. Anyone who would bother to imitate him, _anyone who knew who he was_, was a danger. The imposter looked amused and said, "Don't bother."

"Who are you?" Conan hissed.

The man smiled, and for a moment he looked horribly sad, and then he spoke in a calm, matter of fact voice. "I'm you. You, from the future."

* * *

Conan's mind was a mess. Part of him was cataloging the differences between the man sitting across from him and his own older self, muttering quietly that it actually made perfect sense as to why his hair was a different color and why his hands felt different. Another part of him was screaming that time travel didn't exist and Kid was probably playing some sick joke.

But the impostor, Kudo Shinichi, looked completely serious, and there was an anxious look in his eyes that he couldn't quite repress. He turned to Conan imploringly, asking for the young detective's trust in something that Shinichi himself knew he would never have believed at that age. His eyes closed, and it seemed like hours before he opened them again.

"How old?" Conan asked finally. "How old are you?"

"I'm 27." Shinichi said quietly. _Ten years into my future_, Conan thought as he looked out the window. He hadn't ever really thought about it. It was always, _keep moving_ and _look for clues_ and _don't think about how long you'll be stuck like this_.

"Can you prove it?"

"Ask me anything you like," Shinichi said. Conan looked at him, and saw that Shinichi would answer truthfully, and that he was trusting his younger self not to ask any questions he didn't need to know the answer to at the moment.

He thought about it for a moment, and settled on a question. Slowly, he asked, "How is she? Ran, I mean."

Shinichi smiled warmly. "She's doing fine. Great. She's just past six months pregnant, actually," he added. Shock rocketed through him, quickly followed by a surge of happiness so great that he literally could not keep the grin off his face. Shinichi watched the play of emotions, and something about the older man's expression warned him not to ask; even though he desperately wanted to know. He wanted to know if it was his, and if they were happy, and if they were married, and a whole host of other questions.

Instead, Conan said, "Good" and inquired as to what they should be doing next.

* * *

**AN**: I think I probably paced this a tad too fast. I tried to fix it. Still. Hope you enjoyed it, expect the next chapter sometime within the next few weeks.

* * *

**Edit**: I realize now that it's a bit strange for Conan just to accept Shinichi's explanation, but he was mostly basing his opinion off Shinichi's reaction. No one can imitate that sort of look without truly feeling affection for the person mentioned.

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**Note**: I'll refer to them in both ANs and in the story as simply Conan and Shinichi, to save from all that "the older Shinichi did such and such, while the younger did such and such" nonsense.

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**Next**: 02. Paradoxes (or Declarations of War)


	3. Explanations (or Declarations of War)

**Currently**: 02. Explanations (or Declarations of War)

* * *

_"Get Ai over here, and explain this," Shinichi gestured ambiguously at himself, "as best as you can." He smiled wryly. "It's probably best I'm not there. You know how paranoid she is. In any case, I've got something to take care of. I'll probably be back in an hour or two."_

_"That long?" Conan asked, refraining from commenting on the use of Haibara's first name._

_Shinichi nodded distractedly, "That's just a general time frame though, so don't wait up."_

* * *

He knocked on the door three times, and waited. It felt strange to be back here after so many years. In his time, Ran had moved out years ago, and he'd never had any reason to want to visit the detective whose shadow he'd been forced to live in for so long.

But today, it was necessary. Today, he had to relive one of the worst days of his life. That day, years ago, when he'd told Ran the truth about Edogawa Conan. He still had nightmares about that day, and the weeks following. The fact that Ran hadn't spoken to him for a month or more. How badly his classmates had reacted when they found out what happened. Sonoko ranting and raving for hours on end. Mouri Kogoro's attitude towards him had never been great, but afterwards... he didn't even want to think about it.

Slowly, the knob turned and the door inched open, interrupting his train of thought. He tensed as the door revealed a face that was so familiar, but younger by ten years.. Ran was staring at him, dumbfounded. Then she fainted. Shinichi rushed forward to catch her, closing the door behind them in the process.

* * *

Ran opened her eyes and gazed blankly at the ceiling. _Of course_, she thought, _ he's not here. He wouldn't be_. Ran cursed herself, and felt the tears prickle behind her eyes. "Ran?" She stopped, and her mind went blank, _that's not possible_, she thought, a little hysterically.

Yet there he was, standing over her with a concerned expression. Her best friend and sometimes crush; Kudo Shinichi. Before she realized it, she'd reached out and slapped him. He winced, rubbing at his now-sore cheek. "Ow. What'd you do that for, Ran?"

Ran stared at her hand. "Oh," she said faintly. "You're real."

Shinichi laughed, "Of course I'm real, you silly girl. What were you expecting, a ghost?" There was a touch of uncertainty in his voice as he teased her, as if he wasn't quite certain how far he could push before she snapped.

"No, but I certainly wasn't expecting you to show up on my doorstep this morning," Ran retorted, just barely containing the grin that was threatening to spread across her face. Then the thought came unbidden, _Shinichi is back... but for how long_?

Something must have showed in her expression, because he was suddenly serious. "I know you didn't," Shinichi said, "but this was, _is_ important." He sighed, and for a moment he wasn't her childhood friend, but someone older, someone much more wearied.

She blinked, and it was gone. "What is it?"

"I'm here to tell you, to explain to you, why I've been gone so long." He smiled, and her heart almost stopped. _How long_, she wondered, _have I been hoping for this to happen_? Then a thought worked its way into her head, _do I really want to know.._?

Shinichi had been gone for over a year. Did she really want to know what he'd been doing during his absence? Ran shook the thought away, _of course I want to know_. But there was a trace of uncertainty in her voice as she asked, "Are you really going to tell me?" He nodded, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Ran realized that he was desperately uncomfortable with the topic, for some reason. Ran told herself that she didn't care, that she wanted, _deserved_ to know.

Shinichi opened his mouth to explain, but Ran shushed him. "You don't really want to tell me, do you?" She watched as he struggled to formulate a response.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you. But I know how badly you'll react." Shinichi had his head in his hands, and she could hear the frustration in his voice. "I've already seen it." His head snapped up, and he looked at her, wide-eyed._ Clearly_, he hadn't meant to say that.

"What do you mean, 'I've already seen it'?" She asked quietly.

"There's something I haven't told you..." There's a lot of things you haven't told me, she thought, grimacing. "I'm not..." Their eyes locked for a moment, and his unease was clear. "I'm not the Shinichi you know. I'm actually Kudo Shinichi ten years from now."

Her mind went blank.

* * *

"That was uncalled for," an angry feminine voice floated through the doorway. Conan froze, as he recognized it. "You'd think that ten years would've fixed your bad personality."

"I saw an opportunity, and I took it," a solemn male voice replied. "My personality has absolutely nothing to do with this." Ran walked in, looking distinctly annoyed. Conan forced his features into one of surprise.

"Conan-kun!" Ran exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Shinichi walked in behind her, wearing an innocent expression not befitting of someone who had just dragged his past self into Hell. He turned immediately to the girl sitting on the couch. "Ai, I do not care if you have to look them in a room for three hours. Just make sure he explains everything properly to her."

She looked a bit startled by the use of her first name, but nodded. Shinichi turned to Conan. "It's high time you told her. I didn't get around to it until last year, and that wasn't fair of me. Since I'm interfering now, it probably wouldn't have taken you so long, but she's been kept in the dark too long already."

"I-I... Okay." Conan acquiesced. He could see Shinichi's point, even if he wasn't exactly happy with it. "What will you be doing?"

"Gathering attendees," he grinned but it looked forced. "I'm calling a meeting this Sunday and it would be kind of pointless if no one showed up."

"A meeting for what?" Conan asked, echoed by Haibara. By this point, Ran just looked horribly confused.

"I'm declaring war on the Black organization."

* * *

**AN**: I desperately need to fix my pacing, but it's better than my last draft. That's partly why it took so long, I hated my first draft. The other part is that my writing class is suddenly loading us down with work and I've got too much to write. ((We're currently doing a fairy tale with a modern twist.))

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**Note**: I've got other ideas I really want to work on, but then this might not get turned out as quickly. I'm wondering, should I finish this up first, or should I try to keep up with two?

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**Next**: 03. Gathering Allies (or Don't Hesitate)


	4. Gathering Allies (or Don't Hesitate)

**Currently**: 03. Gathering Allies (or Don't Hesitate)

* * *

**Note**: Shinichi is the one phoning everyone. He's simply using Conan's bowtie to change his voice.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Ah, Hondou Eisuke?"

"Who..?"

"It's Kudo Shinichi."

"Shinichi-san?!"

"Yes. I realize this is a lot to ask, but I was wondering if you could make it over to Beika by Sunday. I'm not sure when you'd be back, though."

"W-what, why?"

"I'm declaring war on the organization, and I thought you'd maybe want to help. Or, at least, I thought you'd want to know what we were doing."

"I... I'll be there Saturday afternoon."

* * *

"Yo!"

"I need you in Beika."

"Wh- Kudo? Why? Righ' now?"

"No. Sunday. Without Kazuha-san if you can manage it."

"Yeah, but why?"

"Oh, and you better tell your parents that you might not be home for a while. Pack for a long trip, maybe a week or more."

"Wha..? Kudo!"

"Bye, Hattori."

* * *

"This is Hakuba Saguru. Leave your name, number, and state your case. I will respond to you as soon as time permits."

"Hi, this is Kudo Shinichi. We've only met a few times, but I've recently gotten on a case that I think you might be interested in. Would you be willing to meet in Beika on Sunday to discuss it with me? Call or text back before then, please."

* * *

"Metropolitan police station, Satou speaking."

"Ah, Officer Satou? It's Conan."

"Conan-kun! You shouldn't call the police station unless there's an emergency!"

"I'm sorry. But it's important! I have an offer, for both you and Officer Takagi."

"What do you mean, Conan-kun?"

"You want answers, don't you? Both of you."

"...I-I don't know what you mean."

"No? Then tell Officer Takagi that I'm ready to answer his question, from that day in the elevator."

"W-what?"

"If he wants an answer, he should come to Shinichi-niichan's house this Sunday."

"Conan-kun, what are you talking about?"

"Goodbye Officer Satou."

"W-wai-!"

* * *

"Yes, hello!"

"Good afternoon, Jodie-sensei."

"Ah, Cool Kid!"

"There's a meeting on Sunday, at Shinichi-niichan's house."

"Meeting? What kind of meeting?"

"We're ready to start moving against _them_."

"Oh! Oh. Yes, yes, I'll be there."

"I'll see you then. Bye bye, Jodie-sensei."

* * *

Shinichi turned the key in the ignition. The car roared to life, purring under his fingertips. He grinned, and pulled out of the driveway. Driving had been one of his favorite activities, from the moment he'd been allowed to drive, and this car in particular was a pleasure. It was one of his mother's old cars. Completely flawless interior, even if the outside was a little banged up. (But really, given his mother's driving, that was to be expected.) She'd gotten tired of it, and passed it on to him. Now, he let no one else drive it.

Once Shinichi deemed himself far enough away from the house to be safe, he pulled over and dialed the familiar number with a hint of trepidation. He wondered, _what do I do if she refuses?_

"Hi, who is this?" The voice is cheerful, just like all the other times she's answered.

"Hi, is this Roberts-san?"

"Please, I've told you before, call me Chris. What can I do for you, Teitan-san?" He grinned, she recognized him alright. Even so, there was an odd tone in her voice. Something akin to uncertainty, mixed with just a bit of curiosity.

"Then Chis-san, I'm just calling to check on the children." He said, easily slipping into the odd code they'd developed in his time. "Those seven always did like to cause trouble, so I'm wondering if they're doing alright."

"Oh, yes. Still causing trouble as always." She answered, not missing a beat. "Why do you ask?"

"Someone at work told me there was a virus going around." Shinichi hoped she got what she was hinting at. "I was worried that one of them might have caught it."

"No, they're all pretty healthy kids." She paused. "Still, better safe than sorry. What should I be watching out for?"

"If you'd like, there's actually a meeting to talk about it on Sunday."

"Oh, that sounds great!" He rattled off a bogus address, trusting to her to find her own way. He wasn't worried. Shinichi had seen Vermouth pull off miracles in his time, surely directions wouldn't present much of a challenge. He heard the scribbling of a pen as she jotted it down. "Sunday in Beika, I'll be there."

"I look forward to seeing you, Chris-san."

"Oh, no, I look forward to seeing you, all grown up! I don't think I've seen you since we were children!" Shinichi chuckled, and wished her a good day before hanging up.

_So we've got an inside informant_, he thought with relief. Kir was well and fine, but Vermouth was higher up than she was, and more trusted in certain areas. _Then there's only one more left to convince_... Technically, he supposed there were two, but the last was out of his hands. Very far out of his hands. Really, he didn't have a hope in hell of convincing her.

He drove for about an hour, before parking in front of a plain looking house. Shinichi got out of the car and before he could knock, something inside the house exploded. Sighing, he let himself inside and locked the door behind him.

* * *

**AN**: I actually wrote this all in one go, and I'm actually pretty satisfied with it. I'm shocked. Sorry, it's kind of short though.

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**Edit**: I don't think a notification got sent out for some reason. This is the second upload.

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**Next**: 04. Convincing the Devil (or Quite the Act)


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